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Eormen
' ' The eormen are the most abundant of all races. There’s just something about eormen and their combination of ambition and adaptability, that has allowed them to proliferate like no other human race. Most regions of the world are at least partially inhabited by eormen. They are also one of the most culturally diverse groups. They are like the water they control, sometimes hard as ice, but when their brittle constructs break, they become fluid and adaptable. Basic Attributes · Average Height – Men: 5'’'''7”, Women: 5’2” · Senses - Average all around · Appearance – Dark brown or black hair and brown, almond shaped eyes (varying degrees of an epicanthic fold) o Darker skin than that of elves, altomines, and zemy · Energy type - Blue. Cannot wield red or brown · Home – Fifelwaen and Deorlen, the plains and oceans · Racial Stat Adjustments - Sen +1, Acu +1, Str -1 '''Home and Culture' The eormen dominate two countries of the known world: Fifelwaen and Deorlen. Fifelwaen Fifelwaen is the traditional and original home of eormen. They control the sea of Fifellag and the western plains of Imas, known as Fifelfeorm. That said, while the country is unified, the water-folk and the plains-folk live very different lives. The plains of Fifelfeorm are vast and home to the great agrarian center of Imas. Food for most of Fifelwaen and Deorlen is grown here. The land is run by a feudal system, and cities are spread out far. Most people are considered commoners and any energy wielding of theirs is generally of a farming nature. Powerful fighting techniques are only taught to the landowners, who also act as the peacekeepers and warriors. Of course this also creates a land where the peasants are very much out-powered by the landowners they outnumber. But since the land is generally fertile, and the humans of the land are very good at controlling water and also nature, there is usually little insurrection. 4th edtion note: Things have changed in the past few years. Fifelfeorm has grown much colder, and the feudalism has grown even stronger. That said, many regions remain surprisingly fertile, no doubt thanks to the Winter King’s magic. The vast ocean of Fifellag holds a surprising amount of eormen. However, there isn’t exactly a set location, because the ocean humans are nomadic by nature. Their central hub is Aegvalas, the god of water, and he is literally a whale with the spiritual capital of Fifelwaen on his back. He has traditionally been the cultural and magical center of the eormen, and even still he remains the location of most of Fifellag’s politics In the past 500 years, the true capital of Fifelwaen has changed to the city of Betsport, a coastal city. Even this city has been surpassed recently by Arford. Simply put, the coastal and inland cities have been progressing at a faster rate than those in Fifellag. Ocean eormen are nomadic by nature, and many are rough. There are two main professions: fishing and aquaculture. Fishing requires fleets of ships to travel wherever the fish are. The fleets tend to act as homes, and travel in a pack that is essentially a city. Difficulties of long times at sea are less difficult for eormen, since they can desalinate water quite easily (and have large enough ships that they even manage to grow fruit). Aquaculture, or sea farming, is also nomadic by terrestrial standards, but less so than fishing. Typically, sea farmers travel in a set circle, farming an area for algae and sea plants for a few years, then moving on to a new spot to let the old one regenerate. Since they stay in one place longer than fisherman, they create floating cities out of boats and pontoons. Ocean-dwelling eormen tend to have a very different social structure from land eormen. The people are generally tough and somewhat rough around the edges, but they also have a propensity for ingenuity and adaptability. Moreover, almost everyone tends to work equally, as life at sea does not allow for as much social stratification. The dangers of the sea, including storms, pirate attacks, and sea monsters, require most energy wielding humans to have a good grasp of how to defend themselves. However, while the ocean eormen are very good at what they do, they aren’t really in charge at all, nor do they make much money off of it. They are self-sufficient in their ability to find food, but due to the capitol they require (ships etc.) they are tethered to industry of coastal eormen. Eorment in in Fifelwaen, as well as other parts of the world including the eastern side of Codenwellt forest, also create coastal settlements. The coast does not have particularly fertile soil, nor is it as great of a fishery as the ocean. But it connects the two, and because of this fact, it hold a very important position over Fifelwaen, effectively controlling both sides. The coastal cities are the center of Fifelwaen’s commerce, and also the center of eormen technology. Eormen technology is the most advanced of any race, and is based around their ability to use steam power. Eormen have developed ways to convert energy from the body into energy in tools very efficiently, and because of it, they are able to make very effective instruments of commerce, agriculture, and war. While coastal Fifelwaen has been, for the past 500 years, the industrial capital of the world, in the past 100 years the new nation of Deorlen has begun to catch up. Today, industrial and commercial Deorlen is very closely tied to the industry and commerce of Fifelwaen, yet they are also fiercely competitive. Other coastal regions are not quite the same as the one in central Fifelwaen. The one to the east of Codenwellt bordering the Sterleard Ocean is, while dominated by eormen and affiliated with Fifelwaen, still somewhat akin to elvish life. There is much more regard for nature there. The coast of Adredlag to the south of the orc wastelands is not particularly pleasant, as it has many regions dominated by pirates. These pirates make travel from one side of the continent to the other very difficult. Eormen inhabiting the southern ocean of Adredlag are tethered more so to Deorlen and Dhavabnod. This area is rather lawless, and rife with piracy as well as a valuable spice trade. In fact, quite a few of the eormen that live on this ocean are separatists from both Deorlen and Fifelwaen. Depending on whom you ask, they are either ruthless pirates or independent seafarers who simply want to preserve the old eordic ways in a ruthless time. The coasts of Fifelwaen are in some respects disconnected from much of the rest of Fifelwaen. The plains and ocean provide important farmland for the maintenance of all of Fifelfeorm, but the culture of the coast is much less pastoral and more urban. In fact, the coastal cities, especially the ones on the Emporia river, are culturally more similar to those in the Deorlen. A power struggle exists between the merchants and rulers of this coast and the priests and politicians that reside on Aegvalas. This struggle has gradually been moving in the favor of the coastal cities. 4th edition note: The Long Winter has resulted in a massive power shift. The merchant class of Fifelwaen’s coastal cities has weakened substantially as King Fenrolf and his noblemen followers have taken control. Meanwhile, ocean-faring eormen of Fifellag have become even more separated from land dwellers. Deorlen The next, arguably most important country in all of Imas, is Deorlen. Deorlen wasn’t always important, nor has it been around for nearly as long as the other countries. When the sky continents were raised, they left vast tracts of shadowlands, the Umbra, underneath them that prevented safe travel. Due to their design, the sky continents left only a miniscule space through which travelers could traverse the continent without entering the umbra. Naturally, in this place, a city sprouted up. It helps also that the great Emporia river runs straight through this pass. As trade between the east and west became more and more important, so too did the city in the center of it all. The merchants took advantage of their strategic position to tax traders and the area became extremely rich. With this money came power, and with power came a country of its own. The region was traditionally called Deorlen, underneath the Lord Oria, and so that was the name it was given when it became its own country. Deorlen is the most culturally diverse country, because of its position at the center, all cultures and races mix. That said, eormen still run a plurality of commerce and politics. Other races manage to carve out niches as well. Because of the mixing of races, mixed-blood people are far more common in Deorlen, and also more accepted. There still tends to be bias, but many prosper anyways. In particular, elf-humans have recently become very successful by banding together culturally. Deorlen and Emporia City in particular are also relatively industrialized. Like the coastal cities of Fifelwaen, money and ingenuity have created a much more advanced land. It is also a center of learning. 4th edition note: Emporia City has suffered greatly during the Long Winter. Trade dried up with the Emporia River, and Fifelwaen forces destroyed half of the city. Most merchants and artisans escaped and moved south to Moldeburg. Today, Emporia City is in ruins, and mostly unsafe. Various factions have carved out domains, most of which are ruled by criminal warlords. Though some domains remain allied with Deorlen government, as a whole the city has fallen into shambles. Moldeburg, on the other hand, has now become much of what Emporia City once was. It now houses much of the trade, much of the politics, and even much of the vice that once made its home in Emporia City. If you are looking for Deorlen’s modern central hub, look no further. Commerce wasn’t the only thing that spurred the growth of Deorlen. As time passed and Oria remained gone, a strange reaction occurred among the people. Rather than forgetting Him, many men, mostly eormen, began to consider Him and His possible return. They began to pray to Oria, and to reason with the God, then later reason as to where He was. This cult of Oria melded with those who had traditionally controlled white energy, as the white energy disappeared. The result was a new religion known as Oriism, one that emphasized Oria, an afterlife on the sky continent Orlen, and the god’s eventual return to the surface for his worshippers. This Church of Oria became quite strong, gained a devout following, and became stupendously rich. The Church of Oria is now the official religion of Deorlen. It also happens to have a hand in the commercial dealings in the city. The Church reached its peak power in 1,998, when a popular coup gave control of Deorlen to the church. Within 30 years however, the church’s more extreme individuals had managed to commit a genocide, lose popular support, and lose control of Deorlen. The church still limps on however, as most members either denounce the extremism (but only after they lost the Purging War) or were powerful enough to keep most of their strength. Eormen settlements can be found in most other regions of Oria as well. The western continent of Sterleard has some sparse colonies, though they have yet to have proven successful. Islands have them, swamps have them, even some of the northern islands are settled by eormen. They tend to attempt to adapt to fill any niche possible. Family Life' A typical eormen family consists of a husband, a wife, and the many working children. Marriage has been an important aspect of eormen culture for thousands of years, and nothing has changed with the introduction of Oriism within the last 1,000 years or so. In eormen culture, men are typically seen as the leader of the family, but women have been known to own property and run the household before. There isn’t full gender equality, but it’s relatively close. Part of this is because women must work just as often as men, although this is beginning to change in the more urban areas of Fifelwaen. There also is the rather important aspect that women are equally proficient in magic as men (some would argue more), and so subjugation of women is historically rather difficult. Children begin work from a young age on the farms of Fifelfeorm and Fifellag. In the cities, child labor is common and in some respects regrettably necessary. Children of richer families instead go to school from age eight until age eighteen, much like in Deorlen. Universities for higher education have also become increasingly common in Fifelwaen. Religion Today, most mainland eormen, especially those of Deorlen, have converted to Oriism, a more recent religion of the past 1,000 years or so. Before that, most eormen worshipped a pantheon of gods that surrounded Aegvalas. Their gods tended to be mostly benevolent, but severe. They represented the fruits of labor and the natural world. The old eordic pantheon is only important now among the seafarers of Fifellag, and even there, most do not worship the deities. Instead, they hold on to the stories for their traditional importance. The Old Eordic Pantheon Aegvalas Fifelwael is the god of the ocean, water, and all beings that dwell within or on top. In old eordic religion, the ocean was also the connecting body between the mortal world and the realm of the gods. This also made Aegvalas the sole member of the pantheon who had a full physical presence in Chromoria at all times. Eormen still believed that there was more to Aegvalas in Nihtbrim, but his presence in Chromoria was and is still rather large. Besides acting as god of water, he was also thought of as the messenger god and ambassador between the two realms. Garbren Fiscwielle was the god of fishing. Though his sphere of power was rather small, it was very important to eormen, particularly in early eordic history. Garbren was in a constant argument with Aegvalas, protector of the sea. Eormen would pray to Aegvalas to create more fish, then pray to Garbren, who would argue with Aegvalas until Aegvalas finally agreed to allow the fish to be caught and eaten. According to some older eordic stories, Garbren was once a talented, though old and unsuccessful, eormen fisher. Despite the many fish in the sea, Aegvalas did not allow them to be caught easily. One day Garbren caught hold of a great fish that dragged his small boat all the way to Nihtbrim, where Hlaford fell in love with Garbren’s zeal and determination. Garbren was apotheosized and made the defender of all eormen fishermen. Orea Leofaet was the version of Oria found in the eordic pantheon, though his placement was below some other gods including Aegvalas. He was believed to be the god of light, and was responsible for the upkeep of the palace that was gifted to him by Hlaford. His palace glows and spins around Chromoria, lighting up the world until it must descend again each night for Oria to fix it and recharge it. Hlaford ba Sciepan was the elder god, creator of the mortal world, and lord of the other gods. He acted as a judge and lord to the other gods, but did not do much in the mortal world today. He was the patron deity of politicians, nobility, and judges in Eordic society. Ebbma ba Scieldmaeg was one of the three triplets of Hlaford. Ebbma was the goddess of war, though specifically defensive wars. There was no eordic god of offensive warfare (not that there weren’t wars instigated by eormen). Ebbma fought a nightly battle against Feascinn, the darkness. Her silver shield shines brightly in the night, though as the battle ebbs and flows so too does Ebbma’s strength. Avlen ba Sciegard was the second of three triplets of Hlaford. Avlen was the goddess of the harvest and land crops. She is thought to be a bit of a later addition as eormen began to expand onto land more and more. Avlen was thought to be generous and kind, but short-tempered and easily upset. As such, poor harvests were not uncommon. Huntob ba Sciescop was the third of Hlaford’s triplets, and the god of entertainment. He was the patron of games, art, poetry, and hunting. He was also said to be Hlaford’s least favorite, though many Eormen related with him. Hrangast hwa Ferian was the god of the mortal dead. He was able to come to Chromoria in the form of a spectral sperm whale, and he commanded all other sperm whales in the ocean. He would take the spirits of dead eormen, who were sent to the bottom of the ocean to be collected. The spirits were held in a sac in his head and transported across the northern ocean of Gastbrim and on past the end of the world and into Nihtbrim. Feascinn ba Evig was an incredibly powerful god who was as old as Hlaford (some versions of the mythology put them as siblings). She is locked in an eternal struggle with the other gods within Nihtbrim, a battle it is said she will one day win. Feascinn is the goddess of evil, darkness, corruption, and destruction. Feascinn would eventually be replaced by the Orian religion’s Umbris. It is interesting, because Umbris isn’t just a mythological far off construct, his presence within the umbra is felt, although an actual physical god has never been seen. Nonetheless, the two gods are extremely similar. Due to their similarities, it is thought by some that Umbris and Feascinn are one and the same, and Umbris has been around for longer than many realize. Moreover, it is posited that in the early Ancient Era, where records are scarce but eorman culture was forming, Umbris or Feascinn may have been a very real threat to the mortal world. Other lesser gods exist in the Eordic pantheon, but these are the main ones. Nihtbrim was simultaneously the land of the gods and the afterlife in eordic religion. It was located past the edge of the world, and could only be reached by sailing across Gastbrim, the sea of ghosts. Sailing across Gastbrim, unfortunately is virtually impossible due to ice, blizzards, and monsters. This is why Hrangast was so important. The descriptions of Nihtbrim vary between accounts, but some things are agreed upon. For one, it was visible every night surrounding all of Chromoria. Much of it was controlled by Feascinn, but there were many sanctuaries of light that sparkle at night. Nihtbrim did not follow the same laws of physics as the mortal world, and it is doubtful that most ancient eormen thought the gods even had physical forms as we know them. It was a place of spirits essentially, and it was where spirits went after death. Ancient eormen did not bury their dead (although this began to change as they populated Fifelfeorm). Instead, they attached weights to the bodies and sunk them deep in the ocean. This allowed Hrangast to take the dead to Nihtbrim. The tradition is continued among eormen who live on floating cities. Category:Races